The problem of keeping swimming pools clean has traditionally been addressed by the continuous operation of a circulating pump and filter system. In addition to the initial cost of the pump and filter system, this approach also requires special filter sand or cartridges, extension hoses and electrically powered vacuum equipment. This poses a potential electrical safety problem and the continuous power requirement is expensive and contributes to environmental pollution.
Accordingly, it would be of great benefit to replace this continuous process with a less expensive batch or periodic process. Further energy savings and environmental benefits would accrue if such periodic cleaning could be accomplished solely with manual equipment. However a manual approach to pool cleaning has generally been considered unsatisfactory because of the time and effort required to collect foreign matter from a large area.